The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3) QUOTES

1 " It’s you I love,” he says. “I spent much of my life guarding my heart. I guarded it so well that I could behave as though I didn’t have one at all. Even now, it is a shabby, worm-eaten, and scabrous thing. But it is yours.” He walks to the door to the royal chambers, as though to end the conversation. “You probably guessed as much,” he says. “But just in case you didn’t. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

2 " Tell me what I must slay, what I must steal, tell me the riddle I must solve or the hag I must trick. Only tell me the way, and I will do it, no matter the danger, no matter the hardship, no matter the cost. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

3 " Well, even if the serpent bites off your head,” says Tatterfell, “the rest of you will still look good.”

“That’s the spirit,” I tell her. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

4 " I am the Queen of Elfhame.
Even though I am the queen in exile, I am still the queen.
And that means Madoc isn't just trying to take Cardon's throne.
He's trying to take mine. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

5 " No, I won’t help you. No, I won’t hear you explain why I should. It really is a magical word: no. You say whatever bullshit you want and I just say no. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

6 " I raise a plastic glass. “To family.”
“And Faerieland,” says Taryn, raising hers.
“And pizza,” says Oak.
“And stories,” says Heather.
“And new beginnings,” says Vivi.
Cardan smiles, his gaze on me. “And scheming great schemes.”
To family and Faerieland and pizza and stories and new beginnings and scheming great schemes. I can toast to that. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

7 " By you, I am forever undone. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

8 " Mock me all you like. Whatever I imagined then, now it is I who would beg and grovel for a kind word from your lips." His eyes are black with desire. "By you, I am forever undone. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

9 " Cardan gazes at a rosebush with petals so black and glossy they look like patent leather. ¨It was terrifying,¨ he says, ¨watching you fall. I mean, you´re generally terrifying, but I am unused to fearing for you. And then I was furious. I am not sure I have ever been that angry before.¨ ¨Mortals are fragile,¨ I say. ¨Not you,¨ he says in a way that sounds a little like a lament. ¨You never break.¨
Page 159 "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

10 " I turn away from him and walk, swiftly and completely directionless through the garden. He runs after me, grabbing my arm. I haul around and slap him. Its a stinging blow, smearing the gold on his cheekbone and causing his skin to redden. We stare at each other for long moments, breathing hard. His eyes are bright with something entirely different from anger. I am in over my head. I am drowning. ¨I didnt mean to hurt you.¨ He grabs my hand,possibly to keep me from hitting him again. Our fingers lace together. ¨No, it not that, not exactly. I didnt think I could hurt you. And i never thought you would be afraid of me.¨ ¨And did you like it?¨"I ask. He looks away from me then, and I have my answer. Maybe he doesnt want to admit to that impulse, but he has it. ¨Well, I was hurt, and yes, you scare me.¨ Even as I am speaking, I wish I could snatch back the words. Perhaps it is exhaustion or having been so close to death, but the truth pours out of me in a devastating rush. ¨You´ve always scared me. You gave me every reason to fear your capriciousness and your cruelty. I was afraid of you even when you were tied to that chair in the court of shadows. I was afraid of you when i had a knife to your throat. And i am scared of you now.¨ Cardan looks more suprised then he did when I slapped him. He was always a symbol of everything about Elfhame that I couldnt have, everything that would never want me. And telling him this feels a little like throwing off a heavy weight, except that weight is supposed to be my armor, and without it, I am afraid I am going to be entirely exposed. But i keep talking anyway, as though I no longer have control of my tongue. ¨You despised me. When you said you wanted me, it felt like the world has turned upside down.
Page 160-161 "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

11 " He closes his eyes. When he opens them, he releases my hand and turns so I cant see his face. ¨I can see why you thought what you did. I suppose I am not an easy person to trust. And maybe I ought not to be trusted, but let me say this: i trust you.¨
Page 162 "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

12 " ¨But i am going to take out her stitches, and I dont think youd want to watch that.¨ ¨Oh I dont know,¨ I say. ¨Maybe he´d like to hear me scream.¨ ¨I would,¨ Cardan says, standing. ¨And perhaps one day I will.¨ On his way out, his hand goes to my hair. A light touch, barely there, and then gone.
Page 166 "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

13 " My palm is smeared with gold. When I look at him, I see the remaining powder has been smudged over his cheekbones by the strike of my hand. I cant stop staring at it, cant stop thinking about the way he looked at me when he caught my fingers. That´s the only excuse I have for not noticing that hes led me back to his rooms, which are, I suppose, also mine since we´re married.
Page 163 "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

14 " Cardan puts up a hand.¨No, no, enough. Its all too tedious to explain. I declare this meeting at an end.¨ His fingers making a flicking gesture toward the door. ¨Leave us. I tire of the lot of you.¨
Page 165 "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

15 " That´s one reason I didnt want to believe you´d joined up with Madoc. The other is that i want you here by my side, as my queen.
Page 163 "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

16 " The curse is broken. The king is returned."

He's every bit as terrifying as any serpent.
I don't care. I run into his arms.

Cardan's fingers dig into my back. He's trembling, and whether it is from ebbing magic or horro, I am not sure. But he holds me as though I am the only solid thing in the world. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

17 " I recall that your hands were on her, but her eyes were on me,' Cardan returns. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

18 " Jude. You are in no mood for games, very well. I am in no mood for them, either. Let me write it outright; You are pardoned. I revoke your banishment. I rescind my words. Come home. Come home and shout at me. Come home and fight with me. Come home and break my heart, if you must. Just come home. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

19 " The Roach shakes his head. “I can learn from Jude’s example, though. I can ask for a promise. If we’re spotted, if we’re set upon, promise to go back to Elfhame immediately. You must do everything in your power to get to safety, no matter what.”

Cardan glances toward me, as though for help. When I am silent, he frowns, annoyed with both of us. “Although I am wearing the cloak Mother Marrow made me, the one that will turn any blade, I still promise to run, tail between my legs. And since I have a tail, that should be amusing for everyone. Are you satisfied? "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)

20 " The whole place looks straight out of a fairy tale, the kind where love is a simple thing, never the cause of pain. "

― Holly Black , The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, #3)